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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Before the Game the Tigers Acquired Overager Elgin Pearce from Kootenay for a 5th round 2013 draft pick. He will join the Tigers on their BC road trip starting on Wednesday in Victoria.

Kale Kessy has moved up to Phoenix's Farm Team in preparation for the AHL/ECHL training Camps. Looking at Phoenix's Depth Charts I find it hard to see Kessy sticking in the AHL. More Likely he gets sent to the ECHL or back to the Tigers.

Jayden Hart and Ty Stanton were scratched with Day-To-Day Injuries. It allowed Cole Sanford, and Matt Staples to see their first game of the season.

Brief Thoughts

Through 2 periods the game seemed a little dry. Lots of neutral zone play and not a whole lot of shots on the net. Regina's only Goal I'm sure Marek Langhamer would have liked to have back. Lane Scheidl fired a shot from just inside the blue-line which beat him glove side.

In the third period it looked like Regina started to tire out a little. We saw the same thing with Lethbridge during the Home Opener where the Tigers stuck with it and by the third period the other team had no legs left.

Curtis Valk scored another High-Light Reel Goal, undressing half of the guys on the ice and the goalie, which gave the Tigers a 2-1 Lead at that point.

We saw Jacob Doty get a little more ice-time. He was used on the powerplay standing in front.

The more I Watch Kyle Becker the more I'm wondering how the hell he wasn't on this roster full time earlier. He scored the Tigers first Goal with a rocket top corner on the powerplay, and continued his steady defensive play.

I see improvements from Trevor Cox on the ice. He looks more shifty/ able to anticipate the next play better.

Miles Koules displayed his Hand-Eye coordination, and play-making skills knocking a couple pucks out of mid-air, and scored his 2nd goal in as many games.

Derek Ryckman looked to be fighting the puck a little, but Ryckman and Lewington are proving to be strong steady presences on the back-end.

I thought Shinkaruk looked a bit snake-bit, even though he managed a 4 point night.

Spenser Jensen has improved. I like how he has been able to turn and match the speed of the smaller forwards who try to beat him to the outside..

Cole Sanford dressed for his first game of the year, and he didn't look out of place. The young guys Labelle, Penner, Butcher, Owre also looked good.

Matt Staples dressed for his first game of the year. Their is no doubt he shows a lot of mobility and vision on the back-end, his defensive game is something that will need a bit of work.

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After Two Home Game, and watching 2 road Webcasts I am impressed by the Tigers play so far this season. They have Outshout the opposition by a wide margin, and have limited the opposition team to under 30 shots in 3 of the 4 games. The defense is doing a hell of a lot better than I thought they would be and is actually a strong point 4 games in.

I'm anxious to see how they would fare against Edmonton and Saskatoon.

Cranbrook, BC – Jeff Chynoweth, General Manager of the Kootenay ICE
Hockey Club, today announced the club has traded 20-year-old Forward
Elgin Pearce to the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for a fifth round
pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.

“With us having four 20-year-old players we knew we had to get down to
the League maximum of three prior to the 20-year-old deadline on October
11th. With numerous 1992 born players eligible to return for their
overage season we wanted to ensure Elgin had the opportunity to play his
final season in the WHL. We would like to thank Elgin for his three
years with our Hockey Club and wish him all the best in Medicine Hat,”
added Chynoweth

A little surprised at the move myself, This Leaves Kale Kessy, Elgin Pearce, Alex Theriau, and Derek Ryckman fighting for the last 3 spots. With the Recent acquisitions of Ryckman and Pearce I'm wondering if Kale Kessy or Alex Theriau have played their last game as a Tiger.

Edit: It looks like Kale Kessy may be expected to move up to the AHL/ECHL.

Scouting Report
Pearce scored 21 goals and added 14 assists for 35 points in 69 games last year for Kootenay.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Tigers came out flying. 4 shots within the first 90 seconds of the game. All of a sudden the bad luck train rolled over them.

The rebels second shot on net was deflected, and amid a mad scramble it looked like the Tigers defense and Dawson MacAuley was able to get to the puck and cover it up. The refs went upstairs and after a long discussion it was deemed a goal. 1-0 Rebels The Commish Ron Robison would say during an interview that the puck looked over the line by 1/100 of an inch.

Jacob Doty would get nailed for a roughing penalty during the scrum after the whistle.

On the penalty Kill, Tiger Derek Ryckman would win the puck then fan on a pass out of the zone, and the puck would squirt straight to Joel Hamilton who roofed it from the slot. 2-0 Rebels

A minute after that Adam Kambeitz won a battle behind the net, and placed a perfect pass in between two tiger defenders near the left faceoff circle, where a streaking Tyson Ness put a low shot on net and somehow found its way past Dawson MacAuley for a very quick3-0 Rebel Lead.

That would chase Dawson MacAuley from the net, in favor of Marek Langhamer.

The Tigers would respond with a shorthanded goal. Hunter Shinkaruk would get some room to wheel, and managed to squeak by Rebel Kayle Doetzel on the outside. He would cut to the middle just as Rebels Goaltender Patrik Bartosak came out to challenge him. Shinkaruk would leap over the goalie and get knocked into the net by the other Rebel defender as the puck lay loose in the slot. Dylan Bredo would fire a shot into the net just as Shinkaruk would knock the net off. Refs went upstairs to review and deemed it a goal. 3-1 Rebels.----------------------------

2nd Period
Early in the second period the Rebels Captain Adam Kambeitz would get called for tripping up Hunter Shinkaruk.

On the powerplay Kyle Becker would have his shooting lane blocked so he walked the line and fired a low pass/shot over towards the side of the net. Trevor Cox was able to get a back-handed deflection and the puck went over the shoulder of Patrik Bartosak. 3-2 Rebels

On the powerplay the Tigers would even up the game. Off the Half-Wall Hunter Shinkaruk made a perfect cross ice pass over to Miles Koules. Koules first shot was stopped, however he got his own rebound and somehow found a tiny sliver of space on the short side to tie the game 3-3 TIE.

The Tigers would get quite a few good scoring opportunities. Their #1 line of Shinkaruk, Valk, and Koules is causing the rebels all sorts of troubles.

and Marek Langhamer stood tall when he was called upon. Shots were 33-26 in favor of the Tigers at this point.

3rd Period

Rebels Charles Inglis would trip up Trevor Cox on a rush up the ice, giving the Tigers a powerplay.

Kyle Becker would walk the blue-line, pass over to Leier who one-timed it. Leier half fanned on the shot, and Trevor Cox would pick up the loose puck and bury it at the side of the net. 4-3 Tigers

The Rebels would tie up the game on the powerplay, after Chad Labelle fired it up and over the glass for a Rebels Powerplay.

Charles Inglis from the point walked in down the boards, and cut in front, past a sprawling Kyle Becker. Langhamer was positioned a bit awkward as he was halfway into his net, and Inglis stuffed it in. 4-4 TIE

Ty Stanton would make nice pass to Trevor Cox who relayed another nice pass to a streaking Jayden Hart. Hart had a bit of space and fired a low shot from the high slot and it beat Patrik Bartosak.5-4 Tigers.

Thoughts

I thought the Tigers speed created lots of trouble for the Rebels. It caused the rebels veterans to take quite a few penalties and the tigers made them pay.

The Tigers had a rough start as 3 goals beat Dawson MacAuley on the first 6 rebel shots. Marek Langhamer was able to come and play a very solid game to get the Tigers the Victory.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

I thought the Canes were pretty jacked up at the start of tonight's contest.

The Tigers weathered the storm in the first period, then slowly ramped up their play after the Hurricanes looked a little tired in the second and third periods.

First Period
Despite the momentum going the Canes way the Tigers jumped on board first. On the Power-play Dylan Busenius' point shot found its way past a screened Ty Rimmer. 1-0 Tigers.

2nd Period
Kale Kessy would add to the lead early in the second period. Coming in off the wing he rifled a low shot to the far side. Rimmer got a piece but the puck bounced over and in. 2-0 Tigers

3rd Period
Early in the third period on a reactionary play Kale Kessy went to hit Lethbridge defender Rich Pilon. At the last second Pilon moved out of the way and Kessy stuck his elbow out and nailed him in the back of the head. Kale Kessy Got 5 and a Game, and it is very likely that he will get suspended, I'm guessing a min of 2 games, possibly more.

Midway through the 3rd Period, Curtis Valk would put the fans up on their feet. He stole a puck at the blueline, completely undressed Canes Defenders Spencer Galbraith and deked around a sprawled Ty Rimmer 3-0 Tigers.

Hunter Shinkaruk would finally score his first of the season on the powerplay. The puck came out to him in the slot and Shinkaruk fired a shot in from the slot to give the Tigers a 4-0 Lead

A little later all hell broke loose. Shinkaruk was nailed into the boards by Hurricane Spencer Gailbraith.

Fight Ty Stanton Vs Spencer Galbraith

Right after the Hit Stanton skated up to Galbraith and they dropped their gloves. It was a bit of a hugging match until Galbraith managed to get his hands free and started feeding Stanton shots along the boards. The linesman would come in to stop the fight.

3.5 Minutes left in the game the Tigers would find themselves on the powerplay. Spenser Jensen's point shot would find its way past Rimmer to put the Tigers up 5-0. That was Jensen's First Career WHL Goal.

With 81 seconds left on the Clock the Hurricanes would Break Dawson MacAuley's Shutout bid. I didn't get a good look at the goal but Sam Mckechnie would get credit for it. 5-1 Tigers

Thoughts
Goaltending - Dawson MacAuley looks absolutely huge in net. Covers everything down low, it almost looked like he could sit on top of the net by just leaning back. Their were quite a few goal mouth scrambles that ended up with MacAuley covering up the puck or the defense swatting it away. His positioning was so solid that every save he made looked easy.

Defense - I think I'm really going to like this years group. I was quite impressed.

Kyle Becker - His reach and strong physical play gave the Hurricanes forwards all sorts of trouble trying to create anything offensively.

Dylan Busenius - looks like he has improved quite a bit and impressed me with his ability to control the puck and make the first pass under pressure. He had a 3 point night.

Derek Ryckman - I liked the steady smart play of the newcomer....just the way he covers his man in his own zone is something these young guys can learn from him.

Ty Stanton - Had a tough game on the back-end. I liked how he stood up to Spencer Galbraith after he leveled Shinkaruk with a hit to the head.

Curtis Valk - is the New Etem in town. He made a highlight real play stealing a puck, then undressing Spencer Galbraith, dekeing out the Goalie and putting the Tigers ahead 3-0 at that point.

Hunter Shinkaruk - Had a tough game, looked like he was fighting a bit of rust, but he still managed to score a goal.

Kale Kessy - I thought he was having a tremendous game until that unfortunate 5 minute elbowing penalty. We all know he is going to be suspended, I just hope its not for a long time.

Friday, September 21, 2012

First Period
Tigers start off the game with a bang. Jayden Hart took a big hit coming into the zone, and It created a 2 on 1 down low. Boston Leier made a perfect cross crease pass after getting the goalie to commit, and Kale Kessy had a wide open net. 1-0 Tigers

Fight
Dylan Busenius vs Tyler Wong

Not sure how it developed but It was a short fight as Busenius connected with 2 strong shots and knocked Tyler Wong off his feet. Decision: Busenius

I thought the Tigers looked really good in the first period. The canes might have had a bit of nerves being at home, but I thought the Tigers had the edge in play.

Second Period
The Tigers started off the second period pretty strong in the opening minutes. Both Dylan Busenius and Kyle Becker loaded up on a couple point shots. The Hurricanes would take a time-out soon after to relieve the pressure and the momentum changed 180 degrees.

Spenser Jensen's pass out of the zone was picked off, and the play ended with Jensen in the box.
Lethbridge would score on the powerplay. The puck looked to be going wide then Hurricane Brady Ramsay tipped it in Past Marek Langhamer. 1-1 Tie

7 Minutes later on a bit of a broken play Canes' Jamal Watson threw a puck in front when he looked to be going behind the net. The puck somehow hit something in front and the Hurricanes had their first lead of the game. 2-1 Hurricanes

The Canes would take a 2 goal lead shorthanded less than a minute later. Sam Mckechnie walked out with the puck from behind the net. Marek Langhamer missed a lazy pokecheck and McKechnie shot it Five-Hole. 3-1 Hurricanes

Third PeriodTigers came out with all kinds of pressure again through the first ten minutes.
Dylan Busenius point shot was tipped by Jayden Hart and it Beat Ty Rimmer. 3-2 Hurricanes

Late in the Game the Tigers had numerous chances in close, but couldn't solve Rimmer.
The Canes would get an empty netter to salt the game game away.Final Score: Lethbridge 4 Tigers 2

19 year old goaltender Kenny Cameron has been re-assigned to Spruce Grove of the AJHL. Kenny Cameron was a surprise that made the team from no-where last season. Despite zero whl experience he posted an incredibly respectable .899 save percentage in his 18 year old season, and 14 games played.

Dawson MacAuley has been lights out so far in pre-season. I am a little surprised that the goal-tending battle was solved before the season started. I did not think Cameron would be around next season being an overager.

Derek, to me, epitomizes the stay-at-home defenseman.Ryckman is a great play maker and also uses his size to finish the checks he needs to. He's not (often) going to be the guy joining the rush to crash the net for a play down low, he's going to stay back and patrol the blue line.

The other thing I really like about Ryckman (no, not the insanely awesome curls) is he stands up for his teammates. He's not necessarily a fighter, but he doesn't take any shit and he doesn't allow any opposing players to mess with his teammates. That look he gets when he's real pissed, he's serious.----

It sounds like Ryckman is a guy who takes care of his own end, and is a big team player.------------

DefenceI think with Alex Theriau injured the Tigers will keep an extra 8th Dman around this season. Defence is just as packed as the forward or goalie position is.

I would have to think that Ryckman, Busenius, Lewington ,Becker, Stanton,Theriau, Jensen are locks, barring trades.

That would leave Hansen,Hunker,Mortlock,Staples competing for the last spot with an 8 man defensive roster........unless they consider moving one of the vets mentioned above...and I think they will consider moving one guy mid-season or at the deadline, due to age if and only if the young guys who are kept prove that they can hold their own, and the Tigers receive a good return. I think the Defenceman decisions will not be something made hastily, and may take a while until everyone sorts themselves out.

OffenseRoughly 2-3 cuts to make. I haven't gotten good reads yet on everyone so its hard to comment on what they will do. Cole Sanford is still out with Mono. The Tigers do still have 5 (16) year olds on the roster and their is a CHL limit of 4.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

I think this has happened a few years in a row now. Lethbridge has come to the Arena in exhibition and got their socks knocked off. Tigers led 5-1 at one point, the canes scored 3 straight goals to make it 5-4, but the Tigers pulled ahead.

Marek LanghamerFirst look at Marek Langhamer. He entered the game midway through the second period. He stopped one real good chance then let in a couple quick goals.

My first impression of him was that he looked a bit raw. His goal stick is very short, and he likes to stay in his net.

Both goalies were solid out there.

Kyle BeckerI was pretty impressed with Kyle Becker. The first 2 Tigers goals were off his point shots that were deflected in the net. He is very calm and poised on the back-end, and does all the little things right. He ended the night with 4 assists and a +4 rating.

Jacob DotyType of player where the puck doesn't seem to follow him. He was tossed in the second period for a checking to the head major. I didn't see the hit, but its likely that a suspension will come off of it. Not a good start for him

Spenser Jensen and Matt StaplesI thought they had tough nights communicating with each other. They gave up some goals because of it.

Curtis Valk, Hunter Shinkaruk, Miles KoulesCombined for 12 points and a +13 rating.

We know what Valk and Shinkaruk can bring. Koules is kinda like a silent killer all a sudden he is in the slot rifling a shot on net.

Tyler LewingtonGot into a tussle with Brady Ramsay of Lethbridge. I'd say it was a draw. it was a hugging match untill Lewington got his left free and threw a couple and lost his balance with Ramsay landing on top of him

Kale KessyShowed some patience with the puck along the boards and created a bit of space, I like to see that.

Alan Caldwell did an age breakdown of every teams roster after Main Camp. The Tigers have traditionally been near the top in age consistently the last few years. This year they have the 2nd youngest average age at 17.63 years. The roster isn't set yet, and its likely that the age will increase slightly.

Roster NotesIt's good news that Marek Langhamer has came over to play for the Tigers. Someone mentioned in the comments that Darren Kruger said he expected him to be here Thursday Night.

I don't expect the roster being settled until the roster cut-down day in October. Clouston's first year as a GM is gonna come with some really tough decisions, but we will get more into that after the exhibition game on Sunday.

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About Me

I have been a big Medicine Hat Tigers fan since I was old enough to comprehend the game of hockey.

I'm not a reporter or affiliated with the Tigers organization in anyway.

Tiger fans love their hockey and I created this blog as a means for fans to stay updated on the current Tigers news, as well as throw in my input from time to time.
I can be reached at tigertrauma@gmail.com, but I don't check that email.